Protecting health

What it is

Protecting health is simply about keeping your employees healthy by encouraging all the preventative measures possible to avoid serious illness. View more about each strand and why it should matter to you as an employer below:

Cancer

One in three people are expected to develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. Two-thirds of all cancers diagnosed are in people aged under 75. More than 100,000 people of working age (18-64) are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK.

An estimated one in seven employees will also become a carer in some capacity, which employers will also need to manage and support.

Approximately four in ten cancers could be prevented - for example, by stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables. Around 4% of cancers are attributable to occupational factors, such as previous exposure to cancer-causing substances like asbestos.

The earlier cancers are detected, the better the outlook for the individual. Be Clear on Cancer publicity campaigns aim to raise awareness of early signs and/or symptoms of cancer and encourage people with these signs / symptoms to visit their GP.

Screening seeks to detect cancers early. The NHS’ three national cancer screening programmes are:

breast cancer – for women aged 50 – 70 – detects about 30% of all breast cancers
bowel cancer – for people aged 60 to 74 – detects around 10% of all bowel cancers
cervical cancer – for women / people with a cervix aged 25-64 – detects around 75% of cervical cancers.

As an employer, you can help by promoting information about cancer prevention and early diagnosis to your staff, and encouraging employees to attend for screening when invited.

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels – such as coronary heart disease and strokes. CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK but can often largely be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle.

CVD mostly affects people aged over 50. Some of the main risk factors are high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, inactivity, being overweight, and drinking alcohol above recommended limits.

CVD can be prevented by stopping smoking, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and cutting down on alcohol consumption. A doctor may also be able to prescribe medication for people with a high risk of developing CVD – this can help prevent CVD by lowering lower blood cholesterol levels and reducing blood pressure.

The NHS Health Checks programme for people aged over 40 aims to identify risk of CVD and help support people to reduce their risk. It's also important to discuss with employees who are returning to work after being diagnosed with CVD about how to make adjustments to the role to allow them to continue employment. This will include making risk assessments where indicated.

NHS Health Checks

The NHS Health Check is a health check-up for adults in England aged 40 to 74. It's designed to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia. As we get older, we have a higher risk of developing one of these conditions.

Employers can help by encouraging eligible staff to attend for NHS Health Checks. Health Checks in Nottinghamshire are mainly delivered by GPs, but pharmacy-delivered health checks can often be facilitated in local workplaces. If any problems are picked up, you’ll get plenty of advice and support, giving you the chance to make changes to the way you live to avoid future problems.

Hand hygiene

Hand washing is the best way to protect yourself and other people from illnesses like food poisoning, flu, coughs & colds. Everyone will benefit from having good hand-washing to prevent the spread of illnesses like colds, flu, diarrhoea and vomiting, so it's important to encourage colleagues, family and friends to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly.

Antibiotic (anti-microbial) resistance

As an employer, it's important to reduce the use of unnecessary antibiotics.

Antibiotics have been used since the 1940's to treat infections by killing the bacteria that cause them. They have saved millions of lives, but they are becoming less effective because they have been over used in the past.

The bacteria which cause the infections can become resistant to antibiotics leading to ‘superbugs’ which can cause serious illness and be difficult to treat. This means that our antibiotic medicines are becoming less effective, causing more deaths and complications for people receiving treatment in hospital.

Flu vaccinations

The flu vaccination will help prevent you catching the flu which will protect you and the people you live, work, look after and socialise with.

There is an annual flu vaccination campaign in the UK offering free flu jabs to those people who are:

over 65
are pregnant
have certain medical conditions
are living in a long-stay residential care home or another long-stay care facility
receive a carer's allowance, or you're the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill

Frontline health and care workers are also eligible for a free vaccination through their employer.

Domestic violence

Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality or background.

It is very common with 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men being affected in their lifetime.

Providing details on domestic abuse for staff in the workplace can provide people with information in a safe environment where that can access help.

Sexual health

Sexual health is an important and wide-ranging area of public health. Sexual health is a broader topic than sexually transmitted infections and includes areas such as contraception, abortion, sexual assault, healthy relationships and the wider reproductive health of men and women.

Employers are well placed to provide some basic information on contraception and sexual health which will benefit individuals in the workforce and their families.

Dementia

Dementia is a degeneration of the brain. It leads to progressive decline in a person’s ability to think, reason, communicate and remember. In 2019 there were estimated to be almost 885,000 older people with dementia in the UK, around 7.1% of the age 65 and over population. This is projected to rise by 80%, to around 1.6 million in 2040.

Research suggests that around 35% of all cases could be prevented . Whilst it is not possible to eliminate the risk of developing dementia completely there are steps that can be taken to reduce this risk. These include eating a healthy diet, exercise, keeping the mind active, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, stop smoking, keep alcohol intake to safe levels .

Dementia is a disability and people with dementia have rights under the Equality Act 2010. As an employer, you have responsibilities to make reasonable adjustments to ensure people with dementia can continue to make a meaningful contribution in the workplace, tackle stigma and improve awareness of dementia so that people with dementia can continue in employment and maintain their independence.

Being a carer of someone with dementia will have an impact on a person’s employment. In 2014 the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees, not just those with child care responsibilities, helping to enable all people with caring responsibilities to continue in employment.

What to do now

'Protecting health' covers a range of strands, but as an employer you can take several practical steps to both look after your employees and protect your organisation from the various impacts caused. These range from putting up posters/infographics such as the one above, to full policy changes:

Bronze: Display and signposting health promotion and information
Silver: Campaigns health development
Gold: Training enabling and increasing access to local wellbeing services
Platinum: Policy changes and culture changes